First day jitters

When you’re a seasoned education reporter you have a love-hate relationship with the first day of school. It’s probably similar to what most educators feel.

On one hand, the excitement is contagious. The school year is brand new and unscripted and the anticipation is palpable. On the other hand, you have to deal with all of the headaches and logistical challenges that come with the first day.

For reporters, it’s all about finding a new way to cover the same old story. Usually we come up empty-handed.

This year, however, the Express-News took a different approach. We had two reporters and two photographers visit four different schools to record “snapshots” both in pictures and writing of the first day of school.

We also had Angela Grant, a multimedia intern (that’s a fancy new job in journalism,) head out to a fifth school — Hidden Forest Elementary in North East Independent School District — and produce a video recording the sights and sounds of the first day of school.

We hope our readers enjoy our new approach to covering back to school.